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Backgrounds
A background is a good way for a character to have a bit of back story. Everyone comes from somewhere. Backgrounds provide a means for establishing the past experiences of a character, prior to their joining one of the character classes in the game. Each background is deliberately broad in definition and players are encouraged to fill in the details to add more depth to the character. A characters back story ties in closely with his personality in most cases because your personality generally reflects how you were raised or perhaps past traumas in your life. Back stories allow for character development, goals, more fun game play, and more in-depth role-playing in the campaign. Always remember to do your research before creating a back story. Don't go throwing in random kingdoms and events that aren't really there. It's often fun to use various events and other trademarks of the campaign setting in your back story to help shape your character and help him to feel more connected to the world, whether it is for good or ill reasons. Create your back story with your DM. This allows you to collaborate ideas and create the best possible back story for your character and the game that the DM is running. Always remember, when creating a character, make him variable, flexible; plan for the long term. Characters aren't things you make willy-nilly; characters can be played for a long time. As a player or a DM, most of my adventures last years, in the game and in real-life. Benefits Genericly you get one of the following: *Gain a +2 bonus to checks with a skill associated with your background. *Add a skill associated with your background to your class’s skills list before you choose your trained skills. *Choose one language connected to your background. You can speak, read, and write that language fluently. *If you are using a campaign setting that offers regional benefits (such as the Forgotten Realms setting), gain a regional benefit. Aristocrat These characters are from the upper class of their societies. Generally wealthy and well-educated (almost all are literate), aristocrats are well versed in etiquette, dancing, diplomacy and other skills useful in courtly circles. Barbarian Barbarians are from a culture that is more primitive than the assumed technology level of a typical game. Barbarians are self-sufficient, imposing and impressive to those from other cultures. They are proficient at hunting, tracking and outdoor survival. Farmer Experience at herding and/or cropping, handling domesticated animals, manual labor, etc. Farmers tend to be very practical and good at solving problems with improvised tools and materials. Outdoorsman Experience in tracking, hunting, trapping and survival in the outdoors. Outdoorsmen are good at predicting the weather, assessing natural hazards and blazing the most efficient path through uncharted territory. Scholar Whether as an historian, herald, linguist or theologian, this character has highly specialized knowledge in a particular field and a broad knowledge of related fields. All scholars are literate and are generally inept at most physical and practical tasks, although they excel at research, writing and recalling obscure facts. Seafarer Whether as a simple sailor, a merchant navigator or a pirate, the character is an experienced seafarer. Depending upon their past role aboard their ship, the character is skilled at manning the sails/rigging, navigating, naval combat or the logistics of sea voyages. Soldier Soldiers are those who have received formal military training in some kind of martial organization. This could be an organized militia, a mercenary company or the army of an important ruler. Soldiers are skilled in military tactics, the repair and maintenance of weaponry and the logistics of organizing and moving large numbers of troops. Tradesman The character has some kind of experience as a craftsman, tradesman or other similarly specialized role, including various kinds of artists, performers and merchants. Blacksmiths, bowyers, cobblers, leatherworkers and tailors all have specialized skills that they can use to eke out a living between adventures. A tradesman may or may not be literate depending upon the nature of their trade or craft. Category:Rules